I Am the ‘Boys Have a Penis’ Kid from the Arnold Schwarzenegger Comedy: A Candid Conversation.

The Austrian Oak is universally recognized as an Hollywood heavyweight. Yet, during the peak of his star power in the late 20th century, he also delivered several genuinely hilarious comedies. A prime example is Kindergarten Cop, which hits its 35th anniversary this winter.

The Film and The Famous Scene

In the hit comedy, Schwarzenegger portrays a tough police officer who poses as a elementary educator to locate a fugitive. During the story, the investigation plot serves as a basic structure for the star to share adorable scenes with children. The most unforgettable belongs to a student named Joseph, who unprompted rises and declares the former bodybuilder, “Boys have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” The Terminator replies icily, “I appreciate the insight.”

The young actor was portrayed by former young actor Miko Hughes. Beyond this role featured a recurring role on Full House playing the antagonist to the Olsen twins and the pivotal role of the child who returns in the film version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Hughes remains active today, with several projects listed on his IMDb. He also engages with fans at the con circuit. He recently recalled his experiences from the production over three decades on.

Behind the Scenes

Interviewer: First, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: My understanding is I was four. I was the smallest of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I don't recall being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're flashes. They're like picture memories.

Do you recall how you landed the job in Kindergarten Cop?

My mother, mainly would bring me to auditions. Often it was like a cattle call. There'd be 20, 30 kids and we'd all patiently queue, go into the room, be in there briefly, do whatever little line they wanted and that's all. My parents would feed me the lines and then, as soon as I could read, that was probably the first stuff I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your impression of him?

He was incredibly nice. He was playful. He was nice, which arguably makes sense. It would have been odd if he was mean to all the kids in the classroom, that surely wouldn't foster a positive atmosphere. He was fun to be around.

“It'd be weird if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom.”

I was aware he was a major movie star because I was told, but I had never really seen his movies. I knew the air around him — like, that's cool — but he didn't frighten me. He was just fun and I just wanted to play with him when he had time. He was working hard, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd tense up and we'd be dangling there. He was really, really generous. He gifted all the students in the classroom a personal stereo, which at the time was a major status symbol. This was the must-have gadget, that iconic bright yellow cassette player. I used to rock out to the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for years on that thing on that thing. It finally gave out. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the teacher's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your experience as being positive?

You know, it's funny, that movie was this cultural thing. It was a huge film, and it was an incredible opportunity, and you would think, in retrospect, I would want my memories to be of collaborating with Schwarzenegger, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, traveling to Oregon, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a really picky eater at lunch. Like, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the original Game Boy was brand new. That was the big craze, and I was proficient. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would bring me their Game Boys to pass certain levels on games because I was able to, and I was felt accomplished. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

OK, that specific dialogue, do you remember the context? Did you grasp the meaning?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I realized it got a reaction and it got a big laugh. I knew it was kind of something I wasn't supposed to do, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it originated, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. Some character lines were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the entire ensemble assembled, it was more of a collaboration, but they worked on it while filming and, I suppose it's either the director or producers came to my mom and said, "There's a concept. We want Miko to say this. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't answer immediately. She said, "Give me a moment, I'll decide tomorrow" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she was hesitant, but she felt it could end up as one of the most memorable lines from the movie and history proved her correct.